Scouting-e-zine - Bi-weekly E-magazine; stories and anecdotes about Scouting

SCOUTER'S DIGEST MAGAZINE
Scouting-E-Zine®
Volume 1, Issue No. 1, November 1, 1999;
Copyright (c) 1999 Honor Publishing Company ;
Scouter's Digest Magazine, all rights reserved.
Circulation: 10, 417 - advertising opportunities
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This Free Bi-Weekly e-magazine is sent to Adult Leaders of Youth organizations like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, YMCA, & Boys & Girls Clubs. If you would like to receive this publication simply click here to join. (NOTE: If you received the Scout-E-Zine e-mail, you are already subscribed) If you feel this e-magazine is of value and would like to share it with your friends, click here to refer them to this list. We will give them an opportunity to join as well. If, for any reason, you do not want to receive this publication, simply click here to be removed from our list.
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LETTER'S TO THE EDITORS:
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As this is our first issue of ,Scouting-E-Zine ® we do not have any feed back yet. If you have a comment, suggestion, or contribution, please e-mail the editor and let him know.

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If you have a Scouting or Youth Group news item or story to tell, Scouting-E-Zine ® would love to hear from you. Please click here to find out how your story or news release can appear in the next issue.
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IN THE NEWS:
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The U.S. Scouting Service Project, Inc., (USSSP ), one of the best resources on the internet for Scouting resources, has also become one the most visited Scouting website's in the world with nearly three million "page views" a month being recorded in September and October of 1999.

According to their Vice President and Webmaster, Mike Bowman, "The U.S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. is a group of Scouting volunteers who have formed a not-for-profit corporation in the State of Missouri to run and maintain the usscouts.org website and other information resource projects for the benefit of Scouting. It is our purpose to serve as a vehicle to help Scouters share and exchange information via the web and through other information technologies.". The USSSP File & Clipart Library has thousands of text files, Clipart images, links to other Scouting resources, and much more freely available on their website. Scouts and Scouter's from around the world have found this site to be a valuable resource for their Scouting program.

You can visit the USSSP at www.usscouts.org

By the way, the USSSP has made their extensive on-line File and Clipart Library available on CD-ROM. Over 15,000 files and images have been collected on one CD to make it easier for Scouts and Scouter's to utilize this great resource. You can order this CD for
$ 19.95 plus $3.00 s&h directly from the USSSP's website.

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The Boy Scouts of America
Deliver the Promise

(IRVING, Texas) August 15, 1999 - The Boy Scouts of America has initiated a renewal of their commitment to youth and to America's Promise, the Alliance for Youth. In May of this year, the Boy Scouts of America reported 52,908,746 service hours contributed by Scouts during 1998. This report, coupled with the Boy Scouts of America's 1997 efforts puts them far beyond the half way mark of their four-year commitment of 200 million service hours.

See the entire press release:
http://www.bsa.scouting.org/nav/volunteers.html

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October 25, 1999 - Scouts in Barboursville, OH are in mourning following the weekend death of one of their friends and fellow troop mates. Ohio State Police say eleven-year-old Brian Gibson was killed during a Boy Scout biking trip. He was completing a biking merit badge with a trip from Barboursville to the Ohio town of Rio Grande. Police say Gibson pulled his bike into the path of an on-coming car and was struck. He died shortly thereafter at a local hospital. Keep the friends and family of this Scout in your prayers.

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October 28, 1999 - Boy Scout Popcorn Lawsuit
- (DICKINSON, NC) -- There appears to be a resolution in the case of the missing Cub Scout popcorn money. In an effort to recover almost 18-hundred dollars, the scouts filed a lawsuit last week against 37-year-old Ronda Rapp of Dickinson. She had previously stated that someone else stole the fundraising proceeds that were in her care. The Dickinson Press says prosecutors had dismissed criminal charges against Rapp citing insufficient evidence for conviction. Under an agreement filed on Tuesday, Rapp accepted responsibility for the lost money and is ordered to pay it back, along with interest and court costs.

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WASHINGTON (AP) - October 11, 1999 - Methodists support the Boy Scouts' anti-gay policy - and they oppose it. The United Methodist Church's social-action agency announced this month that it is calling upon the Boy Scouts of America to change its policy of excluding gays from participating in the organization. ``While the General Board of Church and Society would like to enthusiastically affirm and encourage this continuing partnership of the church and scouting, we cannot, due to the Boy Scouts of America's discrimination against gays,'' the board stated. ``This discrimination conflicts with our church's social principles.''

Meanwhile, the Commission on United Methodist Men is supporting an appeal of the New Jersey Supreme Court's ruling in August that the Boy Scouts must allow openly homosexual leaders. Larry Coppock, director of the church's Office of Scouting Ministry, said the Boy Scouts should be allowed to ``select and recruit leadership in accordance with their guidelines and principles.''
The commission is the liaison with scouting for the United Methodist Church, the nation's second-largest Protestant denomination.

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DID YOU KNOW:
Today, there are more than 25 million Scouts, youth and adults, boys and girls, in 216 countries and territories in the world!
source: World Scout Organization Website
http://www.scout.org/wso/index.html

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NEW BOOK OF SCOUTMASTER MINUTES

Honor Publishing Company has published a new book of Scoutmaster's Minutes by Dave Tracewell called "Just A Minute..." The book features 52 weekly "minutes" to end your Scout meetings with, 12 monthly "minutes" for Adult Meetings, PLUS another 12 "minutes" suitable for a Scouts Own Service or ending to a more solemn occasion. This book is a must for Scoutmaster's and Adult leaders who realize the value of ending meetings on a positive note. The book sells for $ 9.95 plus $ 3.00 s&h and is available from the Honor Bookstore.

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STORIES:
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DO YOU HAVE A GREAT STORY TO TELL?

What's going on in your Troop, Pack, or District? Do you have a humorous story about your Scouts and a pesky skunk? How about the time your Scoutmaster got lost and the Scouts saved the day. Tell us your story. We want to share your Scouting stories with all of our readers and bring a little fun and excitement to this E-Zine.

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100 YEARS AGO:
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October 11, 1899

100 years ago, War was declared and Mafeking, a tiny village in the Transvaal Republic of South Africa, would be under sieged for 217 days before the British army arrived to relieve the town. Back in Britain, the papers carried news every day of the "plucky defenders" under their resourceful leader, Robert Baden-Powell.

Colonel Baden-Powell (B-P) was commissioned to raise the forces in Rhodesia to defend the border on the north of the Transvaal Republic. He chose Mafeking as a supply base and made moves to defend these supplies against the Boers. In addition to defending the frontier, he was also told to keep the enemy forces occupied and away from the main British forces to the south.

B-P's regiment consisted of a small, 700 soldier army, to which he added 300 volunteers from the white men of Mafeking. He also armed 750 Africans, although orders were that they could only defend their own land and not take part in the main defense. With this force he would have to defend a frontier around the town of over 10 km, against a Boer force of more than 6000 soldiers.

From: "Baden Powell: The two lives of a Hero" By William Hillcourt:

"He did not even have decent armament for the defense: and the two guns he was sent from the Cape turned out to be obsolete 7-pounders. One was called `Crooked-tail Sal'. Against this the Boers would bring the 94 pound siege gun known as Grietje, or `Old Creechy' to the English townsfolk."

War was declared on 11 October 1899, and by 13 October the town was surrounded by the Boer forces, cut off by rail and telegraph from the outside world.

B-P was a master at improvising and making due with what he had. He became famous for his stories of bluff and courage - his jaunty messages like "Four hours of bombardment. Only one dog killed" made him a favorite of the British press, and a welcome change from the stories of defeats and frustration that other British units were suffering at the hands of the Boer forces.

When Britain heard that Mafeking had finally been relieved after 217 days,Baden-Powell became an instant hero in his own country. But who could guess that the most famous product of the siege would come from the group of boys who made up the Mafeking Cadets? The boys of Mafeking were the model for the Scout movement which soon grew to become the largest youth movement in the world.

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SCOUTCRAFT:
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Firestarters & Wet weather campfires

Starting a fire in the rain can be a challenge for even the most experienced outdoorsman. Being prepared for wet weather campfires is the key to successfully meeting this challenge.
A simple, easy way to make fire starter can be made from newspapers and an old wax candle. Using an old tuna or catfood can, take a strip of newspaper about an inch thick, and roll it up to about the diameter of the can. Pour melted wax into the bottom of the can, filling it about 1/4 full, then place the rolled up strip into the can while the wax is still melted.

When lit, the wax will allow the paper to burn more slowly making it easier to get kindling started.

Of course, building a fire in wet weather takes some skill and good common sense. As the young Scouts often learn the hard way, wet wood doesn't burn as well as dry wood. And smaller pieces of wood (called tinder and kindling) starts easier than logs. So build your fire carefully, and make sure you follow local laws and BSA guidelines when and where you are building your fire.
Starting with very small (somewhat dry) branches or cut pieces of tinder, build a small, criss/cross pattern of wood, making sure it stays dry while you are building it. Make sure you leave enough room for your fire starter. Add some larger pieces of kindling around and on top and have a ready supply of more kindling and larger wood readily available when the fire gets going. Once you have built your fire, place your fire starter under the tinder and light it. There are several methods of building a fire, depending on its use, listed in the Boy Scout Handbook and Fieldbook.

For more information visit:
www.usscouts.org/scoutcraft/firestarters.html

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Are you always cold in the outdoors? Do you have cold feet?
Tired of sleeping in a wet sleeping bag in the winter?
Check out: www.isd.net/stobin/document/vapor.html
to help you solve "Winter Wetness" problems.
From: Steve Tobin's Netwoods Virtual Campsite

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COOKING & FOOD RECIPES
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Looking for some great receipes for your next campout?

The MacScouter Website has a treasure-trove of outdoor cooking resources at http://www.macscouter.com/directory.html under their "Cooking for Scouts and Scouter's" section

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SCOUTMASTER'S MINUTE:
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"Effort"

"Effort turns ability into accomplishment. It breathes life into ideas and carries dreams toward reality. Effort is the corner- stone of achievement, the crucial factor in nearly every success. If you make the effort to complete each task you are given, to the best of your ability, you will not fail at anything for very long."

-Author Unknown

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When dealing with boys, use the "MARF" method, that means always:
"Maintain Absolute Ridged Flexibility"!

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